Karen Garvin
Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852), was an English mathematician who collaborated with the mathematician Charles Babbage (1791–1871), the inventor of the mechanical analytical engine. Although Babbage’s intent was to use the machine for arithmetic calculations, Ada realized that by using numbers to represent more than just quantities the analytical engine could become a computing machine instead of a mere computational device. Her analysis led to her being credited with inventing the first computer program.
Ada Lovelace was born Augusta Ada Byron (1815–1852), on December 10, 1815, in Piccadilly Terrace, Middlesex, now part of the city of London.[1] Her parents were the poet Lord George Gordon Byron (1788–1824) and Lady Byron, Anne Isabella Milbanke (1792–1860), who was nicknamed Annabella.
A few weeks after Ada’s birth, her mother separated from Byron because of his ongoing extramarital affairs. For financial reasons, she took Ada and went to stay with her parents in Leicestershire. Initially Lady Byron remained affectionate toward Byron and wrote letters to him, but eventually she sought a legal separation from her husband and was awarded custody of Ada. Meanwhile, Lord Byron had run up considerable debt. He fled the country for Continental Europe, sailing from Dover in April 1816, just barely ahead of the debt collectors.[2] Byron never returned to England.
Despite the scandal created by the couple’s breakup, Lady Byron did all she could to shield her daughter from the worst of it.[3] Lady Byron was well educated and strongly believed that her daughter should receive a good education.[4] From age four, Ada was homeschooled in topics that included geography, mathematics, music, and French. Lady Byron, fearful that Ada might inherit some of her father’s worst tendencies, insisted that Ada be tutored in mathematics because she believed that the rigors of studying the subject would dampen any wild imaginings that Ada might be prone to. Consequently, Ada was closely supervised during her early years to ensure that she develop self-control and learn to be a dutiful child. Ada was often ill during her childhood with severe headaches, and for a while she was prevented from continuing her studies.[5]
Meanwhile, Lord Byron had become involved in the Greek War of Independence from Turkey and died from fever on April 19, 1824. Freed from her former husband’s constraints over what she could do with Ada, Lady Byron was now able to take her daughter on a Grand Tour of Europe. Mother and daughter sailed for the Continent in June 1826, returning to England fifteen months later during the fall of 1827.[6]
After their return, Lady Byron rented a country house called Bifrons, located about sixty miles from London. She was away much of the time, and during her absence Ada became fascinated with the idea of flying. She envisioned a steam-powered winged horse and wrote to her mother about the idea. Lady Byron reacted to this outburst of imaginati